The General's Fall
by ExactChase
Summary: [Sequel to The Political Protocol. Conclusion of the Perseus Trilogy] With a suitable counter to the Political Protocol, Ruby is appointed Headmistress of Beacon, as well as the General of the Vale military in the war against Atlas.
1. Natural

**A/N: You guys chose the option of trilogy! But that's only because only one person voted, and they said trilogy. So here you go!**

Ruby sighed as she flopped down into her chair. She had been headmistress/General for two weeks, yet she had accomplished very little. There had been no battle with Atlas, no. All the kingdoms laid in wait, waiting for the other to make the first attack. But it never came. Ruby had been waiting for one of two things; either for Atlas to attack, or for her schedule to free up so she could attack herself. However, waiting for Atlas to attack first was probably her best option, as most people had not seen what Atlas had done, and she needed a way to build a common hatred for Atlas, as well as nationalism. Both were essential to ensuring high enrollment rates.

But Ruby hated waiting. She hated that, in her short time as Headmistress she had done nothing other than small things. Things the headmistress' second in command should take care of. But Ruby had no second in command; she couldn't find a suitable candidate. She felt like it was wrong to give Yang or Jaune the position, as she was related to one, and romantically involved with the other. When she offered it to Blake, she said she didn't want it. Ruby felt like Nora was too Nora for the position and she didn't really think Ren fit the position. It mainly called for someone aggressive, as it was mainly a disciplinary position.

This left Qrow as her only option, but she could tell that he didn't trust her after all that happened. He wanted to, but he just couldn't. And she didn't blame him, hell, she didn't even trust herself anymore. No one did.

Ruby yawned loudly and set her head down on her desk, trying to stop thinking about filling the position of her assistant. She was tired. This job caused her a lot of stress, which lead to her being kept awake by her own thoughts. It had been a long time since she had gotten a full night's sleep, and she felt as though she was going to collapse at any given moment.

The elevator suddenly dinged, and Ruby quickly sat up just before the doors began to open. She had no doubt that her hair was a mess, so she was glad to see that it was not a teacher nor a student, but rather her own sister.

"Jesus," Yang said, walking over to Ruby's desk. "You look like shit."

Ruby glared at her, "Gee," she said, sarcastically. "Thanks."

"You need to take a day off." Yang told her.

"I can't." Ruby said. "I've only been working for two weeks."

"When was the last time you slept— before we found you, that is?"

"I woke up in an RV right after they wiped me." Ruby said. "So a few days."

"Alright," Yang said, clapping her hands together. "You, sleep. I'll stand out front and make sure nobody comes in."

"You don't have to—"

Yang quickly cut Ruby off, "I do. Now come."

Yang motioned for Ruby to follow, and she did, tiredly dragging herself from her chair and stepping on the elevator beside Yang.

Yang pressed the button to go one floor down, to Ruby's bedroom. Once the elevator arrived, Yang effortlessly threw Ruby over her shoulder. Ruby giggled as Yang tossed her onto the large, soft bed, before turning and getting back on the elevator.

"Please take the assistant position." Ruby mumbled from the bed.

"Maybe." Yang said.

It wasn't too long before the elevator arrived at the ground floor, allowing the blonde to step off. She smirked as she approached the other two hunters.

"I did it!" She exclaimed.

Blake chuckled. "You've been kissing her ass for two weeks, why did you even want that job?"

"Because," Yang said. "No one can help Rubes quite like I can. I know her better than anyone!"

"No offense, Yang." Jaune said. "But that sounded really sexual."

Yang jumped and shook her head.

"No." She said. "Nope. Never. That is disgusting."

"Yeah," Blake said. "Yang is basically Ruby's mom. That'd be weird."

Jaune looked at Yang, "I gotta say," he said. "You look good for forty. What's your secret?"

Yang nodded. "Exercise."

"That'll do it." Jaune said.

Blake shook her head. "That's not how it works."

 **A/N: So, this wasn't a plot heavy chapter. It was mostly just because this was to show that things are going back to normal.**


	2. Boomerang

"I trusted you!"

"Perseus?"

"Apprehend Weiss Schnee."

"Weiss did not kill Ruby!"

"She's innocent!"

"You've blurred the line between right and wrong."

"You're alive. You're the bad guy, but you're alive."

"I was just a kid!"

"Revenge isn't the answer!"

"Move in."

"Traitor."

"He'll kill me!"

"Either I kill you or he does. Choose!"

"You killed Pyrrha."

"I had to have her killed."

"Where's the R?"

"She did not confess."

"Unfortunately, the real world is so very different from a fucking fairytale! There is never a happy ending! I didn't have one! I was betrayed! Why?! Because I was better! Because I was young! Because I was childish! I've learned from my mistakes, Weiss! Have you?!"

Ruby jolted awake, quickly sitting up in her bed. Her breathing was ragged and she felt like she was going to cry and vomit at the same time. She quickly stood from the bed, her destination being the bathroom. Unfortunately, her legs failed her, causing her to collapse onto the hard floor.

Tears streamed down her face as she laid there, sobbing loudly. No longer did she feel the need to vomit, but she still felt overwhelming feelings of guilt and sadness.

There was a sudden ding from the elevator, but Ruby didn't hear it. She didn't notice Jaune calling her name, as she just laid there, sobbing.

When Jaune saw her on the floor, he quickly ran to her, pulling her into a loving embrace as he tried to calm her down. She quickly hugged him back and he felt his hoodie beginning to become damp around her face. He grabbed the back of her head with one hand, and rubbed her back with the other.

"It's okay." He softly told her, "You're going to be okay."

Jaune sat, waiting for the tears to stop, with unending patience. And it didn't take long. After what seemed like an eternity, her now quiet sobs were replaced with soft snoring.

Jaune sighed in relief. He hated seeing her like that, he made him feel worse than she did. It made him feel like he was doing something wrong. He had promised her that he would do everything in his power to protect her—not that she needed him to— and he did try. But this was not something he could shield her from. He carefully lifted her back onto her bed, laying down beside her and pulling the comforter over the both of them.

 **(A/N: I don't know if this has even crossed anyone's mind, but there's no smut, just to make sure everyone knows)**

The feeling of her warmth was foreign to him, as he hadn't had much physical contact with anyone in a very long time. But that doesn't mean he didn't enjoy the feeling. He sighed contently, resting his chin on her head. He could feel her breathing against his chest and stomach, and he could smell her hair. Most people would have reeled back at that smell, as it would take more than a few showers to erase the smell of three years in a military facility. But he enjoyed the smell for no reason other than the fact that it was her smell.

[Three Years Prior]

Jaune violently struggled against Qrow's firm grasp around both of his wrists. He had been arrested for working with Ruby, of course, only Atlas wanted him in prison and since hunters had no affiliation with any specific kingdom, Qrow was to arrest the boy.

As Qrow lead him into Beacon Tower, Jaune saw two paramedics wheeling away a gurney with an occupied body bag atop of it. He didn't think anything of it, just hoping that it was Weiss.

Ozpin's office was a mess; papers were scattered everywhere, crystallized glass lay on the floor, and furniture was overturned. The man himself didn't look any better; his hair was messed up, his clothes were disheveled, and his glasses were missing from his face.

"Qrow." Ozpin angrily said. "Release the boy."

The aforementioned narrowed his eyes and uncuffed Jaune.

"The situation has been resolved." Ozpin told him, motioning for Qrow to leave.

"With the death of Weiss Schnee, I presume?" Jaune asked.

Ozpin shook his head, "Miss Schnee has been arrested."

"That's good." Jaune said. It seemed like things were getting better. But the look on Ozpin's face said otherwise.

He sighed, "But," Jaune said. "Judging by how I was treated, you arrested Perseus."

Ozpin shook his head, "No." he said. "Unfortunately, Miss Rose…"

Jaune's eyes widened. Ozpin knew Perseus' true identity, but how? Only WBY, JNR and a select few in Atlas knew.

"Took her own life." Ozpin continued.

"What?" Jaune asked, beginning to tremble with a mixture of anger and sadness.

"I'm sorry, Mister Arc, but Miss Rose is dead—"

"Liar!" Jaune angrily screamed.

Ozpin gave him no reaction, he just stared blankly at the boy.

"I understand that this is hard for you to believe," he said. "Given that this is not the first time Miss Rose has been pronounced dead." The man's tone was beginning to rise to that of anger. "But I can assure you that she is gone this time. For real this time."

Ozpin pointed to the far wall. It was caked in blood, as if it had splattered across the wall. Jaune walked towards the wall to get a closer look. A few feet away was a bullet shell, meaning that the splatter had come from a gunshot wound. The chunks of skull, hair and what Jaune could only assume was brains confirmed that it was indeed a bullet to the head.

[Present Day]

That was many years ago, but what Jaune had seen that day still haunted him. But now that he knew that Ruby was alive, a new question pestered his mind; whose blood was that? Jaune shrugged. It didn't really matter anymore, did it? He hugged the girl tighter, careful not to wake her.

"I missed you so much." He whispered.

 **A/N: Don't worry, this story will pick up soon, I promise. At the moment it's only fluff, but soon, it will rise back to the violent bloodbath** **that you know** **and for some reason love**.


	3. Cool Out

Silence. Silence was the only sound that filled Ruby's ears as she stared down the Atlesian General. They weren't in the same room, no, of course not. Ruby would have already killed him, they were just simply talking with the Council about the war Ruby was planning.

"Headmistress Rose." Professor Lionheart pulled Ruby from her trance. "I understand that there are some personal tensions between yourself and the General, but I don't believe that war is the appropriate action." Ruby blinked a few times, making sure that she was paying her complete attention to the others.

"This is not purely about personal matters," Ruby respectfully said. "This is about Atlas attacking citizens of not only Vale, but Menagerie as well."

"An attack that you yourself took part in." Ironwood smugly added. Ruby's professional manner dropped, and she found herself enraged, however, she managed to keep a semi professional tone of voice.

"My mind was not my own." She angrily breathed, trying to keep her composure. "Besides, I am trying to right those wrongs."

[Shift]

Ruby sighed as she shut down the conference call. She was extremely agitated, but that was an understatement.

"God fucking dammit!" She yelled. Ironwood has played her for a fool that entire call. She had miraculously managed to keep Mystral's support, but Ironwood managed to gain Vacuo's. The politics of this whole thing were ruining her. And she couldn't stand it. She had to ensure that she didn't say or do anything that offended anyone in anyway, or made herself look like the bad guy in any situation. She knew for a fact that every Atlas news network was demonizing her, regardless of the fact that it had not been her decision to start the war; it was Ozpin's. She supposed they only demonized her because she was the leader of the enemy. It's not like it was easy for them anyway. Anything she had ever done that was immoral or illegal was under their General's command and anyone with a scroll and an internet connection could figure that one out. Ruby simply sighed and turned her chair, facing the window and watching the students down below, heading from class to class. Or maybe even to their dorm rooms. Ruby wasn't entirely sure what time it was.

 **A/N: Sorry it's short, this is just to show that this story is back. I've been writing it for almost a year now and it wasn't the hardest thing, I just had a hard time figuring out where I was going with it and focusing on it. The only reason I stopped in the first place is because Christmas hit and I was really busy spending time with family and by the time I got back to writing, I forgot what I was doing and what my plan had been. Even now I don't remember the plan, so I'm going to try and write out plan before I start on the next chapter. It might take some time, because I don't even know where o start, but I can assure you guys that it is coming sometime this year.**


	4. West Coast

Ruby slowly stepped through Beacon, her cloak bouncing with each step. She watched the newer students race to their classes, anticipating the sound of the bell, while the older students lazily walked about. Ruby noticed the odd looks the upperclassmen gave her; it was quite obvious to them that she was no older than they were, some were even older than her, yet she was supposedly an experienced huntress? Rumors circulated. Some said that Ruby was in her thirties and just appeared to be younger than she already was. Others said that she was a student who skipped grades and had managed to impress Ozpin. Ruby knew all the rumors of course, much to her amusement. None of these rumors were true, but she had to commend them for getting very close. But she was also a little disappointed. A simple Google search could tell them everything they wanted to know about her. Well, not everything. Ruby's "service" in Atlas was kept classified for various reasons.

The bell loudly rang throughout Beacon's campus, and Ruby found herself returning to her office, as the elevator began to close, an armored hand stopped it and Jaune stepped in. His face was now clean shaven and his hair was short and neat. Ruby chuckled at the sight of her first friend. So much had changed, and he looked so much different, as did she.

"Ghost Recon has been deployed." Jaune simply said.

"Good," Ruby said, her face becoming void of any and all emotion, "remind them that they are just to observe the General. Nothing more."

"Already did. How could I deny you your trophy kill?" Jaune mumbled that last part, but Ruby heard it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. He could hear the anger rising in her voice.

"I don't think you should kill him," he told her, "he deserves to rot for what he did to you."

"Men like him don't get what they deserve," Ruby growled.

"There are no men like him." Jaune told her, watching her step off the elevator in front of him.

"There are always men like him." She said, the elevator doors cutting them off from one another, "We're certainly not gonna listen to him, are we?" A garbled and mechanical voice asked. Ruby wasn't surprised by the hallucination of her… more violent persona. She had been seeing and hearing it for just a couple days now, but had quickly grown accustomed to having to constantly hear from her more psychotic side. Perseus nodded, taking Ruby's silence as a yes. "Why stop with Ironwood?" Perseus continued, "Maybe we should consider world domination!" Ruby continued to try and ignore the hallucination, but it was in her mind—it was her mind, and it knew how to get to her. With each passing day, it dug deeper and deeper, trying to hit every single nerve the girl had. "You think I'm kidding." Perseus added. Ruby raised an eyebrow at that. The hallucination had never referred to them as separate people, why had it now? Was it possible that it wasn't her mind and was actually caused by someone who had the ability to stir the pot of highly explosive chemicals that was Ruby's mind?

"What are you?" Ruby finally spoke to whatever it was.

"I'm your other half!" Perseus happily said. Ruby could hear the smile, even through the distortions of the mask, "I'm what you should have been, had you not been as weak as those poor excuses for human beings thought you were!" The hallucination stepped closer to the real Ruby, who was extremely angered, having been called weak. "I had to destroy you to bring them all to justice," Perseus snarled, "And now you're back. You're in the driver's seat, and you thought you could just throw me in the trunk?! No…" The hallucination suddenly went from a yell to a whisper, "You can't get rid of me—not permanently. I will always be a part of you. It took a lot of the traitors' meddling to bring you back, simply because you were useful."

"They disposed of you, because you were dangerous and because they're my friends," Ruby simply said, pretending to be bored by the whole conversation. Perseus thought this hilarious.

"They're not your friends," Perseus said, "Penny was our friend and they killed her. They made their choice abundantly clear when they chose Weiss over you!"

"Shut up." Ruby growled.

"Who're you talking to?" Ruby spun around and saw Yang standing in front of the elevator. Ruby hadn't heard it arrive, but judging by the fact that the doors were just closing, it was clear she hadn't heard much.

"Myself." Ruby answered truthfully, no longer seeing Perseus anywhere.

"Are you okay?" Yang skeptically asked, her lilac eyes scanning the empty room.

"I-I don't know," Ruby said, trying hard not to break under all this pressure, "I think I'm losing my Goddamn mind." Ruby let herself slide down the desk, and onto the floor and sob uncontrollably. Yang immediately ran to her side, taking her little sister into her arms. "I don't know who I am anymore." Ruby quietly said.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked, concerned for her sister.

"I-I just—I don't know!" Ruby stuttered, "I keep seeing that damn suit, and it won't shut up!"

"What suit?" Yang asked, "The one he put you in?" Ruby weakly nodded.

"He made me into a monster," Ruby said, "And I don't know if I can ever atone for the things I did under his command."

"That wasn't you. He made you do awful things that I doubt I could ever imagine." Yang said. The sobbing immediately ceased and Ruby stared emotionlessly ahead.

"It was me," she said.

"I'm sure you had a good reason for following his orders." Yang offered. Ruby looked at her, her face lacking any and all emotion.

"I did it for me." She said, in an emotionless whisper, "I liked it. I was good at it. And, I was really… I was alive." Yang truly didn't know how to respond to that. "It doesn't scare me that I did those things," Ruby continued, "it scares me that I know, if I had to do it all again… I wouldn't do anything any differently."

"There's a lot I would change." Yang quietly added.

Ruby slowly and gently pried herself from Yang's grip and the two stood. Ruby felt numb now and she was unsure why that was.

"Aw," Perseus suddenly said, "you two were really having a moment." Ruby glared at the hallucination, eliciting a concerned look from her sister.

"Right," Yang suddenly said, "You meant you were literally seeing the suit, and it was literally talking to you. Makes sense, I guess?" Ruby gave Yang and small nod and sat down at her desk.

"You came here for a reason," Ruby casually asked, "or did you just come up here to chat about my mental health?"

"Yeah," Yang said, "yeah. I—Atlas hit Patch." Ruby raised an eyebrow. "More specifically, the bombed the entire west coast of Patch." Ruby gave an uncharacteristically smug grin.

"Looks like Atlas just declared war," she all too happily said.

A/N: I'm terribly sorry that this took what? Two years to write? Anyway, I've just been having a hard time writing recently, and I've written like twelve new stories since October, but I haven't posted any of them. I'm not too happy with the quality of any of my more recent works—the ones not uploaded—and I felt like I had written myself into a corner with this one. Considering doing a new trilogy in the Perseus Canon, just to wrap up the fact that Salem still exists. We'll see.


End file.
